The history of Indonesian special forces units begins when in 1952 Col. Alex Kawilarang, the
commander of the 3rd Military District (Siliwangi), established a small commando-qualified unit which later will be known
as Kopassus. Following its founding, several other special forces units came into existence. (Several important figures
of these special forces are listed in the 'Prominent Figures' section).

Kostrad-own Tontaipur and Marines' Yontaifib are elite units that serve different purpose. Tontaipur and Yontaifib are trained to do combat and surveillance
operations against enemy combatants. Kopaska also has the same skills as Tontaipur and Yontaifib units, but, in addition to that, Kopaska has been trained since the very
beginning to operate as a counter-terrorist unit on or below water.